You wouldn't say it, but New York's Central Park is a fantastic spot for bird watchers. One of the enthusiasts who await the return of thousands of migratory birds every spring is composer Maria Schneider. The moment in spring when the sky is full of chirping and twittering again is the main source of inspiration for her latest album Sky Blue. In Cerulean Skies, those bird sounds can be heard in
… some samples and in the instruments of her orchestra. The piece won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition at the end of 2007. Other compositions on Sky Blue also bear a personal signature. Fortunately, Maria Schneider is the person par excellence to transform her own emotions into orchestral compositions and arrangements that affect almost everyone. In a unique style, which is a cross between big band jazz, she writes impressive pieces in classical orchestral work and improvised music, often with a specific soloist in mind, just as with Duke Ellington. That makes Sky Blue a beautiful album with which she surpasses the successful predecessor Concert In The Garden yet again. (HB)more
